Basic Cooking

Celebrations and family get togethers seem to bring out something within us. Cooking is the tie that binds people in ways that they do not immediately realize. Families gather around the dinner table to talk about their day. Co-workers bond over office parties celebrating birthdays, special promotions or retirement. The food that we share does more than nourish our bodies, it also nourishes our minds and spirits.

Cooking does not have to be complicated. There are free recipes everywhere, from the grocery store to the internet. Most dishes are not hard to make nor do they require ingredients not found in most grocery stores. All kitchen cooking begins with a few basic items that every kitchen should have. Cooking utensils make the top of the list. There is no cooking class performed without some basic tools.

healthy cooking
We watch television cooking shows and are envious at the gadgets and professional equipment at the chef’s fingertips. Yes, it would be nice to have a set of titanium knives but they are not a necessity. The only piece of equipment that should only have one use is the fire extinguisher. As you progress in skill then you will have the knowledge to know what pieces of equipment suit you best.

Once you have assembled all of the basic kitchen items you will need, it is time to find recipes that you want to try. Remember to start small and work up from there. Cooking does not have to be complicated. Beginning chefs often make that mistake. They find an elaborate recipe and then become discouraged when it does not turn out the way it should. Just remember to take it slow, make it simple and try to enjoy yourself.

cooking class
The kitchen is stocked and the recipes are out. You have ventured into the world of culinary delights and cooking equipment. It may not always turn out like you want but the important thing is that you did try. Cooking is a common bond and brings us closer together. It may be a simple cocktail party or an elaborate Christmas dinner. The point is people gathering together to nourish their bodies and their spirits.

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When was the last time you enjoyed a big old juicy live lobster drenched in melted butter? I’ll bet that just the thought of it is making you hungry for more. Before making a trip to the local Red Lobster for a $25.00 lobster dinner, take a minute to listen to some historical facts about your dinner-to-be.

Early Native Americans were a funny bunch. They had super-easy access to lobsters, but they refused to eat them. Instead, they used them to fertilize their farm fields or as fish bait. How sad is that?

When European settlers started arriving on America’s shores, many of them starved to death, but they still wouldn’t eat lobster meat. They used it for fertilizer, too, plus they fed it to the people they considered inferior: slaves, indentured servants, the poor, and their own children (children weren’t spoiled in those days like they are now!). After word got around that indentured servants were being forced to eat this terrible fare, prospective indentured servants had promises written into their contracts that they wouldn’t be made to eat lobster more than three times a week. Imagine that!

Up until the early 19th century, people could get all the lobsters they needed by snagging them from tide pools. They had no need for technological advances in the harvesting of live lobsters. The first lobster traps didn’t come on the scene until the 1850s. The reason harvesters needed traps is because they had become able to sell their lobsters to canneries. No one ate the lobsters fresh, and the canned version was so tasteless that few people ate them canned, either.

When our transportation system developed sufficiently to transport live lobsters, the meat finally caught on with the public. They were shipped to the finest restaurants in America’s largest cities where only the well-to-do were able to afford to eat them.

Did you ever choose a live lobster from a tank, watch while restaurant personnel remove him, and then have him appear cooked on your dinner plate? It gives you a weird feeling, doesn’t it? Your feelings are only normal. You just have to resign yourself to the fact that the little qualms you feel are all a part of the lobster-eating experience.

My great-grandmother was raised during the Victorian period of the late 19th century. During her formative years, girls were sheltered from the sordid parts of life. She wouldn’t have been able to imagine something as terrible as putting a live animal into boiling water. In her later years, she still couldn’t bring herself to eat the seafood that was all the rage with everyone else. Her Victorian sensibilities made the thought of seafood repugnant to her.

At least we’ve finally learned to appreciate the quality of a maine lobster tails dinner. The prices have even come down enough that middle-class citizens can afford to eat them, too. We can buy them in supermarkets or from online merchants and cook them in our own homes. We’ve come a long way, baby!

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